Nocatee, Florida — State environmental officials and water managers have completed the $50 million C-23 Canal diversion initiative, marking a key infrastructure achievement aimed at curbing damaging freshwater discharges toward coastal waterways.
Constructed under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the newly finished system routes excess water along a seven-mile channel toward the C-44 retention reservoir and wetland treatment area. A newly commissioned pumping facility equipped with three specialized units can transport up to 112,000 gallons per minute, redirecting excess runoff and mitigating high-volume freshwater surges into delicate coastal waterways.
State leadership emphasized that dedicated public financing for coastal water infrastructure addresses long-standing ecological pressures and produces measurable environmental improvements throughout regional water basins.
Environmental authorities reported that operational testing of the system has already diverted approximately 4.8 billion gallons of excess runoff away from the St. Lucie basin. State leadership highlighted that overall spending on Everglades restoration and regional water quality initiatives has reached nearly $9.5 billion, expanding regional reservoir capacity threefold to 176 billion gallons in southern Florida with further expansions planned.
